Chapter 8—From Raga to Bollywood: Developments and Intercultural Crossings in Indian Music
Further Reading
General Sources:
Arnold, Alison (ed.). 2000. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 5. South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent. Routledge.
This comprehensive encyclopedia volume includes entries on a multitude of topics and issues relating to music of India and the South Asian subcontinent, from bhajan to bhangra and filmi git to Indian music-jazz fusion. The Karnatak and Hindustani classical music traditions receive extensive treatment, as do other music traditions discussed in the chapter, including Bollywood.
Broughton, Simon, Mark Ellingham, and Jon Lusk (eds). 2009. The Rough Guide to World Music: Europe, Asia and Pacific. 3rd ed. London: Rough Guides.
This is a good resource for information on popular music traditions. Articles provide historical information, cultural contexts for performance, descriptions of selected musical genres, and biographical sketches of selected artists.
Roote, Deane L. et al., eds. 2009-. Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Available: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/(by subscription).
Part of the Oxford Music Online gateway, this online resource includes the full text of the 2d edition of the multi-volume New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, with ongoing updates. Karnatak and Hindustani music, traditions, bhangra, specific musical instruments, and many other subjects discussed in this chapter have specific entries.
Other Sources:
Booth, Gregory D. 2008. Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai’s Film Studios. Oxford University Press.
This oral history of music scenes in the Mumbai film industry from the 1940s to the 1990s is a look at the people who created and played the music and at processes of musical production before the era of digital technology.
Farrell, Gerry. 1997. Indian Music and The West. Oxford University Press.
An accessible introduction to a fascinating subject. Traces the history of Indian-Western musicultural relations from the late 18th century to the late 20th century. Ravi Shankar’s many contributions are well accounted for.
Khan, Ali Akbar, and George Ruckert (eds). 2007. The Classical Music of North India 1: The First Year’s Study. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Essentially an instruction manual on the first stages of learning Hindustani music, this collaboration between the venerable Indian sarod player Ali Akbar Khan and one of his protégés, the ethnomusicologist George Ruckert, is interesting and informative. It specifically represents the Maihar Gharana musical tradition of Allaudin Khan (Baba), the father of Ali Akbar Khan and the guru of both A.A. Khan and Ravi Shankar.
Morcom, Anna. 2007. Hindi Film Songs and the Cinema. SOAS Musicology Series. Ashgate.
The author analyzes Hindi film songs in the context of the cinema, and focuses on production, musical style and meaning, and audience reception.
Ruckert, George. 2004. Music in North India: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Global Music Series. Oxford University Press.
An introductory text on North Indian musical traditions (with accompanying CD) that teaches concepts of music related to Hindustani classical music, musical instruments, musical transmission, and the impact of contemporary influences on music today.
Shankar, Ravi. 1968. My Music, My Life (with an Introduction by Yehudi Menuhin). Simon and Schuster.
This Shankar’s first autobiography and was written during the central period of the American/international counterculture movement in which he was such a central figure. It provides a fascinating historical snapshot of a pivotal moment in Indian and global musicultural history.
Shankar, Ravi. 1999. Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar, edited by George Harrison. Welcome Rain Publishers.
Ravi Shankar has written not just one, but two autobiographies. Their publication dates are separated by more than thirty years. Each is fascinating and quite informative, and highly revealing. George Harrison’s contribution as editor of this later volume is also notable.
Slawek, Stephen. “Keeping it Going: Terms, Practices, and Processes of
Improvisation in Hindustānī Instrumental Music,” in Nettl, Bruno (ed.), with Melinda Russell. 1998. In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation. University of Chicago Press, 335-68.
An insightful and informative essay on improvisation in Hindustani music that is a valuable supplement to the chapter. The author is a leading ethnomusicologist specializing in this area and a sitar protégé of Ravi Shankar.
Slawek, Stephen. 1991. “Ravi Shankar as Mediator Between a Traditional Music and Modernity,” in Blum, Stephen, Philip V. Bohlman, and Daniel M. Neuman (eds.), Ethnomusicology and Modern Music History. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 161-80.
Another enlightening essay by Slawek, this one dealing with Shankar as a cultural as well as a musical figure. Watch also for a forthcoming book on Shankar and North Indian music by Slawek that he is writing for the Routledge Focus on World Music Series.
Viswanathan, T. and Matthew Harp Allen. 2003. Music in South India. Global Music Series. Oxford University Press.
Introductory-level book (with accompanying CD) focusing mainly on the Karnatak classical music tradition. Includes coverage of several other South Indian music traditions (including popular) as well.